Insomnia is defined as difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, or just a bad dream and insufficient rest. Insomnia can cause problems with memory and concentration, depression, irritability, weakened immunity, increased risk of heart disease and car accidents.
There are two types of insomnia, acute and chronic. Acute insomnia is short term insomnia. This type of insomnia is usually caused by stress at work, family problems, or traumatic experiences.
Chronic insomnia usually lasts for longer period and is mainly the symptom of another health problem you might be having.
There are various reasons that can cause insomnia. Some of them are causing the short term, or acute insomnia. Those reasons might be: consumption of psychoactive substances like caffeine, alcohol or certain drugs, hormonal misbalance, discontinuation of antidepressants, stress, anxiety, financial problems or birth of a child. The long term or chronic insomnia might be results of deeper issues like are: mental disorders such as ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), depression, or obsessive compulsive disorder, problems with the thyroid gland (excessive secretion of hormones). In some cases, insomnia may result in injuries and lesions of the brain, and not taking sleeping pills causes more insomnia, until your body back into balance. Some of the remedies that can help in fighting insomnia are following.
Relaxation
Relaxation therapy involves progressive muscle relaxation from head to feet in order to enhance feeling of relaxation and drowsiness and reduce insomnia. It starts with the muscles of the face, gently contract or for two or three seconds, then relax. This is repeated several times. The same technique is also used for other muscle groups, usually in the following order: jaw and neck, shoulders and upper arms, forearms, fingers, chest, abdomen, buttocks, thighs, shins and feet. If necessary, the cycle is repeated for 45 minutes. Relaxation therapy is sometimes combined with biofeedback.
Sleeping pills
Hypnotics and sedatives are names for the types of tablets used for dealing with insomnia. These medicines are effective for a short time but might produce habituation and therefore are not suitable for prolonged use because the body adapts their impact. These medicines might cause and a mild addiction. The effects of these drugs often last in the morning when you wake up and feel dazed and slowed.
Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone that is secreted in the dark and the hormone controls the sleep-wake cycle. Medicines with melatonin are often used to cure the insomnia, and are especially effective for the establishment of the normal cycle of sleep and waking up. Its advantage is that there is almost no consequence does not create addiction as might be the case in regular sleeping pills.
Valerian
Valerian is primarily used for the treatment of insomnia, as it allows a sturdy and rugged dream. It is often used instead of sleeping pills. There is some scientific evidence that operates and improves the quality of sleep. One of its main characteristics is that it does not cause drowsiness such as pharmaceutical agents for sleep.
In fighting insomnia, the best performance of valerian is achieved when using between 400 and 900 mg of valerian extract up to two hours before bedtime.